HARDTAIL STRAT w/tremelobridge??

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rockman23

New member
--I dont have access to one, BUT--cant u just tighten those 6 screws on a VintageTremelo(50's FENDERSTRAT) & take out the Springs(back)--AND NOW HAve a HARDTAIL STRAT?? Without BLOCKing the tremelo...

I'm building a strat--it was a tremelo(I bought the bare body from ebay) so it's routed for tremelo--I WANT A HARDTAIL. If I use a regular hardtailbridge, you'll still see a HOLE cause the Bridge dont cover the tremelo space..ya know??

I bought a HOT ROD CUSTOM BRIDGE from MusiciansFriend for just this purpose BUT ya have to drill 4 holes & if I go back to tremelo(future) you can see 2 of those holes from the new bridge...
 
Re: HARDTAIL STRAT w/tremelobridge??

it reminds me on my first strat-project.
after i bought the body, i have choosen to build a hardtail *lmoa*
well, i wanted to do it in a perfect way and went for a quest ...
the quest to find a piece of swamp ash, that perfectly fitted my
stratbody and i was sanding and dremeling 2 months on it, that
it perfectly fitted as one piece in the complete routing of the body.
i suggest you not to do so - it's a horrible work :)
either go for a new hardtailbody or lock the tremolo.
but you can lock the trem just by fixing the screws (you can do that a little,
also but don't use strength). you might damage the paint eg.
you can use a piece of wood to lock the trem lever or use mighty
springs which hold down the trem completely
 
Re: HARDTAIL STRAT w/tremelobridge??

You can pull all the springs out and block the tremolo but it's still a NON Hardtail Strat...it still has a trem cavity (which does change the sound) and the strings still go through a metal (hopefully steel) tremolo block and no wood like a hardtail strat.
 
Re: HARDTAIL STRAT w/tremelobridge??

rockman23 said:
--I dont have access to one, BUT--cant u just tighten those 6 screws on a VintageTremelo(50's FENDERSTRAT) & take out the Springs(back)--AND NOW HAve a HARDTAIL STRAT?? Without BLOCKing the tremelo...
Click to expand...

If you do that the bridge plate won't be flat. Under the 6 screws the plate is slanted like this \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ so the plate on the right side can lift up for tremolo techniques. So you need to block the tremolo and tighten the 6 screws just enough because the slant needs to be accounted for.
 
Re: HARDTAIL STRAT w/tremelobridge??

rockman23 said:
--I dont have access to one, BUT--cant u just tighten those 6 screws on a VintageTremelo(50's FENDERSTRAT) & take out the Springs(back)--AND NOW HAve a HARDTAIL STRAT?? Without BLOCKing the tremelo...
Click to expand...

Yes and no. Yes because, in theory, it will work fine. No, because the resulting tension mismatch would
1. pull the bridge plate up as high as possible
2. Place an unnecessary load on the screws and pivot edges

I'm building a strat--it was a tremelo(I bought the bare body from ebay) so it's routed for tremelo--I WANT A HARDTAIL. If I use a regular hardtailbridge, you'll still see a HOLE cause the Bridge dont cover the tremelo space..ya know??
Click to expand...

Hmm.. well, a Kahler hardtail would cover the rout ;)

I bought a HOT ROD CUSTOM BRIDGE from MusiciansFriend for just this purpose BUT ya have to drill 4 holes & if I go back to tremelo(future) you can see 2 of those holes from the new bridge...
Click to expand...

My honest opinion: put in a standard trem and either block it or tighten the claw down w/ 5 springs and dampen the springs with foam. You will not get any closer to a true hardtail without major mods (save the Kahler option)
 
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